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Rabat – The government is closely following the development of the legal process relating to the SAMIR oil refinery station, and “hopes” that the file will reach a settlement, the Government’s Spokesperson, Mustapha Baitas said on Thursday.
The SAMIR oil refinery station, also known as Societe Anonyme Marocaine de l’Industrie du Raffinage, is an oil refinery located in Mohammedia, Morocco. Established in 1959, the station is one of the largest refineries in Africa.
With a processing capacity of up to 200,000 barrels of crude oil daily, the refinery was a major supplier of petroleum products to Morocco and the surrounding region.
But the refinery faced financial difficulties in recent years, leading to its closure in 2015 due to bankruptcy. While the Moroccan government has since attempted to find a buyer to restart the refinery’s operations, the station remains shut down.
Speaking to the press, Baitas insisted that the government, which fully supports the reopening of SAMIR, will do all it can on an institutional level to relaunch the facility and allow the company to contribute again to national production.
The closing of the refinery impacted Morocco’s economy. The refinery played a crucial role in meeting Morocco’s domestic demand for petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. By producing these products locally, the country was less reliant on imported fuel, which helped to reduce its dependence on foreign suppliers and increase energy security.
The refinery was officially closed in 2015 after its debt totaled an estimated MAD 44 billion ($4.1 billion), including a MAD 13 billion ($1.3 billion) customs debt to the Moroccan government.
After a year of struggling to stay above water, Casablanca’s Commercial Court declared SAMIR bankrupt in March 2016, launching the liquidation process.
Read Also: SAMIR: Can Morocco Exploit Lease, Low Oil Prices to Save Refinery?
